Wire stretcher



Nov. 24, 1925. 1,562,588

. L. RENAR! WIRE STRETCHER Filed Juiy 1, 1924 lNVENTDR L' a@ Remm Patented Nov. 24, 1925.

UNITED STATES LOUIS RENARI, F SANTA ROSA., CALIFGRNIA.

WIRE STRETCH-IER.

Application filed July 1,

To all 107mm I? may concern.'

Be it known that I, Lotus RENAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Santa Rosa, county of Sonoma, State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVire Stretchers; and l do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the characters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this application.

This .invention relates to improvements in devices for stringing and stretching wires along fences, my principal object being to provide a wheel-supported device for the purpose arranged to carry a turnable reel of wire to be strung, so that by moving the device along the ground, the reel will rotate and the wire will be unwound therefrom. The device also carries permanently mounted means for engaging the wire after it has been strung for a suitable length, and enabling the wire to be drawn as taut as may be desired.

By means of this device therefore, a reel of wire may be mounted on the same when leaving headquarters of the supply house, taken out to the scene of operations, and the wire strung along the fence, without any physical effort on the part of the operators being necessary in so doing, since thc device is adapted to be drawn by draft animals or other suitable means.

The wire tightening means on the device is hand actuated, but is so arranged that great pulling pressure may be exerted on the wire without any great physical effort being necessary.

l have particularly in mind to apply my wire stretching elements in connection with the post puller, as shown in my pending application on the same, filed May 21st, 1924, Serial No. 'YldO-i, without interfering in any way with post pulling operations.

lt will be evident, however, after a perusal of the following description, that the wire stretching device may be built as a separate structure from the post puller. The assembling of the two features in one machine however saving the users the additional cost entailed by purchasing two machines, parts of which are or can be duplicated.

A further object of the invention is to produce sinmle and inexpensive device 1924. Serial N0. 723,492.

and yet one which will be exceedingly effective for the purpose for which it is designed.

These objects .l acconiplish by means of such structure and relative arrangement of part-s will fully app an.' by a perusal of the following specification and claims.

In the drawings similar characters of reference indicate corresponding part-s in the several views:

Fig. l is a side view of the wire stretching device as mounted in connection with a post puller.

Fig. 2 a cross section of the same.

Fig. 3 is a det-ached top plan view of reelsupporting brackets, showing a means for braking the rotative action of the reel.

Fig. i is a side elevation of the machine, in operation.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary top plan view of the frame of the structure, showing the in dependent wire clamping elements thereon.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on the drawings, the numeral l denotes a horizontal frame niember, forked at its rear end in a horizontal plane to support post-pulling wedge-blocks 2, as featured in the above identified pend` ing application.

The frame is supported intermediate its ends on oppositely disposed wheels Depending from the frame and mounted thereon for lateral swivel movement are transversely spaced brackets et ar znged at their lower ends to removably seat a shaft or spindle 5 for a wire reel 6 of standard form.

The brackets are caused to be drawn to gcther at their lower ends, so as to bear against the opposite ends of the rcel and exert a braking action thereon, by means of a horizontal hand-controlled lever 7 pivoted under the frame l ahead, of the reel, and connected to the brackets by suitable link means 8, which are connected to said lever equal distances on both sides of the pivot thereof. The brackets are positioned so that the reel therein will not interfere with post pulling operations, though the reel is of course easily removed from the brackets at any time by withdrawing the spindle 5.

A horizontal rack 9 is sliclably mounted on the frame for longitudinal movement between guides 10, movement being imparted to the rack by a pinion ll mounted on the frame l and connected t0 a turning handle llO 12. A pawl and ratchet mechanism 13 is mounted in connection with the pinion to normally prevent rotation thereof in other than that direction which will advance the rack toward the forward end of the frame.

Mounted on the rack at the rear end thereof is a wire clamping means of any suitable character, such as for instance an eccentrically mounted disc or cam 14- having a handle 15 whereby it may be turned to clamp the wire 16 of the reel between said cam and a fixed plate or block 17. Any other desired type of wire clamp may however be employed.

Another similar wire clamping means 18 is mounted on the frame 1 to t-he rear of the rearward limit of movement of the rack.

In operation the machine, with the wire reel mounted thereon, is wheeled to position adjacent the first post 19 of the fence to be strung, with the rear end of the machine facing the post. The end of the wire on the reel is then attached to the post at the desired level, and the machine is then drawn away from said post parallel to and adjacent the fence. IVith this movement of the machine, the reel of course rotates to allow the wire to unwind therefrom, the lever 7 being manipulated by the operator if necessary to prevent a freedom ofrotation of the reel such as would cause the wire to be payed out too fast as to become tangled.

Then the desired length of wire has been payed out, the machine is halted, `and secured against backward movement by any suitable means, such as by bitching the forward end of the frame to a dead man post 20, as shown in Fig. L1.

The end of the strung wire, which is slack, is then caught up, and clamped between the clamping means on the rack, the latter being at its rearmost limits of travel.

The handle 12 is then turned so as to cause the rack to be advanced, and the frame on which the rack is mounted being not stationary, the wire is of course tightened up. If the wire, upon the arrival of the rack at its forward limit of movement, is not under sufficient tension, said wire is placed and clamped between the fixed clamping means 18 on the frame while the rack-clamp is loosened, the rack retracted, and the clamp thereon again tightened against the wire. The clamp 18 is then loosened, and the rack again advanced. This operation may of course be repeated as many times as may be necessary, without the machine as a whole being moved While so doing.

Although this device is shown and described for use in connection with barbed wire, the stretching structure may be employed to stretch wire field-fencing of various kinds.

From the foregoing description it will be readily seen that I have produced such a device as substantially fulfills the objects of the invention as set forth herein.

TWhile this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferred construction of the device, still in practice such deviations from such detail may be resorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

Having thus describe-d my invention what I claim as new and useful and desire to seeure by Letters Patent is:

l.. In a wire stretching device having a frame supported from the ground and on which the stretching means is mounted, opposed brackets depending from the frame, and pivotally mounted therein for transverse movement, said brackets being arranged to support a wire-reel therebetween, and means for moving the brackets laterally toward the reel at will, such means comprising a lever pivoted intermediate its ends on the frame, and connections between said lever on both sides of the pivotthcreof and the brackets.

2. In a wire stretching device having a frame supported from the ground and on which the stretching means is mounted, opposed brackets mounted' on and depending from the frame and arranged to support a wire reel therebetween, and means for moving said brackets laterally toward the reel at will to frictionally engagey the same and impart a braking action thereto.

3. In a wire stretching device having a frame supported from the ground and on which the stretching means is mounted, opposed brackets depending from the frame, said brackets being substantially V shaped and being formed `at their lower ends with substantially U shaped bearing sockets, whereby to turnably and removably receive the shaft of a wire-reel.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

LOUIS RENARI. 

